Forsaken Wasteland | Iroh II

.3

Chapter 3: 

Spirit World

To the inhabitants of the desert, anything other than sand or rock was perceived as a treasure to be kept a secret.

Misty Palms Oasis was, at first, a treasure, until it was found and exploited for its water. However, while an oasis in the heart of the desert was indeed extremely rare, it was not impossible to stumble upon. Few were the ones that knew about them, only the frequent travelers of the desert, which were less than a dozen.

Kanna's goal was clear: spend the first night somewhere high, spend the second night at the oasis that crossed her road, spend her third night in the caves of the Hami tribe and get to Misty Palms before sundown. Her plan was simple and efficient; after all, she had done the trip almost hundreds of times. She had no worries: her provisions could last her and Nyla a week, she knew where and how to avoid any predator's territory and she was well prepared for any rogue traveler with bad intentions.

Twilight started to fall upon the dunes of sand, the sun burning the last creatures of the desert before hiding and giving space to the cold. Kanna held Nyla's reins tightly as the shirshu climbed up the hill. The woman looked around. The sand dune was the highest they could find, with a large view around them. Kanna nodded, satisfied by the place, and patted Nyla's head before climbing off the saddle. She pulled from her biggest bag a small treat and gave it to the shirshu, carefully enough not to touch the animal's saliva. She took a smaller bag from inside the big one and stuffed a few pouches of money and the Dai Li's stolen plans, securing the bag around the animal's neck.

The plans of the three nights spent in the desert were simple. Night one: meditation. Night two: sleep. Night three: the Hami celebrations, and then, if morning wouldn't make its surprise appearance, a little sleep.

As she had in mind, Kanna took a large gulp of water before sitting down in a lotus position by Nyla's side. The animal wrapped itself around the woman, it's tail touching its nose. Kanna let out a big breath before straightening her back and placing her hands in front of her, her palms touching yet fingers pointing in opposite direction, towards the sky or towards the ground.

Nyla nudged the woman's side, making Kanna peek at her. "I'll be fine," she whispered before closing her eyes again. A small frown appeared on her face, a crease forming between her eyebrows. Before Nyla could even acknowledge, Kanna was no more with her. Her physical body was intact, but her mind was far away.

When she opened her eyes, her instinct was to keep them wide open, waiting for her vision to get adjusted to the dark. But this time, she had to shy away from the powerful light of the sun. Her hand went to her face, shielding her grey eyes away from the sun rays, but she let a small smile cover her lips.

"I knew you'd like it."

At the familiar voice, she narrowed her eyes, her expression becoming stone cold. She was no friend of the spirit's, and their conversations were rarely pleasure to her. But she had no choice but listen. He was always there when she entered the spirit world.

"Here's your tea," he said, pushing a small cup through the sand in front of her, "pineapple and dragon fruit infusion. Your favourite."

She hesitantly sat down in the sand, the colour of her clothes blending well with the desert. She stared at the cup before looking up, her eyes falling on the man before her. He had chosen a long time ago to meet her as his young man self, seeing as for some reason, she seemed to stay more than when his spirit found its original form. But Kanna left each time nevertheless, even if sometimes she stayed longer. Young or old, he still had the same thoughts as the man that found death in the human world: anarchic, immoral, evil.

"Where were we?" he asked, taking his cup and bringing it to his lips. Before he could take a sip, his eyes widened and he turned to Kanna, "ah yes... Don't you think the world would be better without the Avatar?"

Kanna stared him down, her eyes cold and full of hatred. "I have had enough of your insane ideas," she hissed and got to her feet, ready to leave.

Suddenly, a dark spirit wrapped itself around her ankle, pulling her down. Kanna fell harshly on the sand. She groaned silently before extending her foot and kicking the spirit harshly, pushing it away from her. It shrieked in pain before flying to the man and wrapping itself around his arm comfortably.

"You're not leaving yet," said the spirit of the man, "I've never brought you any harm for running away and spilling my ideologies to the Avatar himself. The only thing you can do is stay and listen." He made a small pause, his green eyes peaking up to the woman, "I am helping you heal your relationship with your father, sweetheart. I'm sure you wouldn't want to lose your only conversation topic with him."

Her expression fell. He stared at her with a sly smile, knowing well enough he had just hit a nerve. Kanna looked down, her eyes clouding with sadness at the thought of losing the only contact she had with her family. She might have been the one to chose her life, running away from home at a young age, leaving behind her parents and siblings. If she could go back in time, she wouldn't change anything about it, it was her life in the desert that made her who she was meant to be. It didn't mean she didn't miss her family. But for their sake, she took her distance, only communicating with her father through the spirit world. Hesitantly, just like the first time, she sat down in front of the man.

"They already know of your fan club and anything else you can tell me," said Kanna, bringing her cup to her lips.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

"What do you mean?" asked Kanna confused.

"Your father still thinks we're just a little organisation that's going to die in a few years in the absence of their leader... as in myself."

Kanna rolled her eyes at the man and placed her teacup on the sand. She stared down at the dark spirit, it's purple void eyed staring at her as if she was a prey.

"So your network of people is more important than we thought?" asked Kanna, but she already knew the answer.

The man chuckled. He put his tea cup down and got to his feet. The sky started to darken, the sun disappearing behind dark clouds.

"We're bigger, more powerful, and closer to you than you could even imagine."

Kanna had enough. She did not know if his words were true, after all, none of his stories turned out completely real. Some of his followers were never found where he said they were, some places of his memory weren't ever real anymore. The young woman did not want to listen to him, it made her head hurt.

With a groan she got up and glanced down at the ankle the dark spirit latched itself into before. A red mark was beginning to form and a little blood poured out of the small wounds where the spirit scratched her. Looking up, she narrowed her eyes and placed her hands together.

"Farewell, Xai Bau."

~